Popular online communities for children, such as Webkinz and Club Penguin, are dealing with a spate of pint-size rule-breakers who sometimes burgle their peers’ virtual dollars, furniture and even pets. Sophia Stebbins, 9, was one of the victims: When she recently signed into her online community, Webkinz, she found that someone had swiped her virtual bed, couch and TV—along with all the “cash” she’d earned working at a Webkinz hamburger joint.
“I was a little scared,” she said. “Sometimes now, I hesitate to go online.” The makers of these worlds are trying to crack down on miscreants. Some worlds only allow users to talk with each other using preprogrammed dialogue and are patrolled by undercover avatars. Most warn users never to share their passwords with anyone, but kids will be kids. So, it’s likely impossible to make such communities completely risk-free, which, some say, isn’t all bad.
“It’s a learning experience for the victim not to be so gullible,” says Jen Sun, president of Numedeon Inc., parent company of the virtual world Whyville.
(Los Angeles Times)
